'There are rules saying they shouldn't do that' - sports barrister on City ruling

[Getty Images] "I do sympathise with a lot of fans here," Yasin Patel, a barrister specialising in sports law, told BBC Radio 5 Live when discussing the Premier League's verdict on the Manchester City charges . "But there are rules saying owners shouldn't do that, and if they had done that then they should've been open about it," he added when asked whether the club were simply spending their own money when they breached the Premier League's financial rules. "We have to go back a few years, but those football supporters who have seen their clubs close because of debt and overspending will highlight that their clubs fell into that situation. "Their supporters and communities suffered because the owners at the time did not have the money, or were taking money out of the club which they shouldn't have done. Hence why rules were put in place by Uefa back in the early 2000s. "The Premier League then changed its rules so that clubs could have losses of up to £105m. "I do sympathise with a lot of fans here. They are right - we are all pointing the finger at Manchester City, apart from those who live in the community and support them. "They will say, 'Look at us, we were there before'. These guys have come along and changed everything. They have changed the blue side of Manchester, helped the community and put them on the map. "There is a point to be made that if they are putting their own money into the club and taking money out, it is their own resources - but there are rules saying they shouldn't do that, and if they have done that then they should've been open about it. "Alternatively, if they haven't shown the statistics and numbers they should've been showing, in terms of auditing accounts, and payments have been hidden, then takes it into a completely different category. "The word 'fraud' has been used because they have been defrauding, in effect, the auditors and ultimately the Premier League."